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Full Circle
Mitchell King is a Houston private investigator. He’s highly intelligent and educated, but also has a conflicted self-image and is beset with aching doubt and insecurity. These failings can lead him to obsessive behavior. Mitch is moody and quick to overreact, misjudging both people and events around him. Mitch is hired to protect a sexy murder witness but he soon becomes romantically involved with her, and that muddies his judgment. Blind to his own failings, Mitch embarks upon a narrowly focused pursuit that brings him to near ruin. His reputation and honor are challenged as his fixation upon the woman affects his every move. Mitch must also help a female astronaut who lives under the microscope of government and public scrutiny. She can’t properly prepare for an upcoming mission because she’s being stalked by an emotionally disturbed admirer. Mitch is asked to dissuade the stalker from further harrassing behavior. The dangers the astronaut faces in her everyday life are a far cry from the hazards of being in orbit, and her reliance upon Mitch’s professional judgment may be a mistake that can cost her far more than a career. These two investigations take Mitch from the refined engineering of space exploration to the squalor of biker bars and heroin shooting galleries. The best and worst of Houston often sit side by side. Mitch struggles with his client cases and at the same time, fights to conquer the personal demons that plague his life. The two critical cases divide his energy and focus, and the strain may easily prove too great. If Mitch self-destructs, will that harm his friends and clients as well? Full Circle is the first in the Mitch King mystery series. It’s a realistic novel with authentic glimpses of people and places throughout the Texas Gulf Coast region. The novel contains mature depiction of crime violence, with adult situations and language. Dialogue is brisk and lively, the narrative literate.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 19, 2009
4 people want to read
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April 18, 2012
Full Circle (aka BLOOD SPIRAL) is a top notch P.I./police procedural that matches Robert B. Parker's "Spenser" in its modish sensitivity; Raymond Chandler, in its cracking imagery; and Mickey Spillane, in its moments of unflinchingly graphic violence. Author Sam Waas's impressive insights into private investigations--and human nature--boost this Houston-based book and its anti-heroic P.I. Mitch King to new heights in the crime fiction scene.
The cynical imagery of many private eye stories is still present in Full Circle. And while author Waas consistently channels greats like Raymond Chandler, in many instances, he surpasses them in his use of metaphors. Barbs like this beauty hit the bull's-eye: "The squat dented machine at the gate buzzed angrily and stuck out its paper tongue at me. I took the ticket. The box quit complaining and lifted its splintery wooden arm in a tired jerky arc."
Despite the sarcasm, the tone of Full Circle is one of surprisingly modern sensitivity and sensibility than of cold impunity. For example, Mitch has a homosexual business partner and bristles at homophobic remarks. He is friendly with the police, especially with a tough Jewish cop named Meierhoff (who he watches deal with prejudice). King himself is not only street smart, but college educated: Knowing his chromatographs from spectrographs proves handy when he's protecting an out-of-this-world smart and sexy scientist-astronaut from a stalker.
And though Mitch drives a 4 runner with GPS; has a knowledge and collection of guns to make Mike Hammer stammer; and performs many profitable private law enforcement jobs that make him more like Paladin than typical P.I., he seems empty inside. Ironically, it gives Mitch an impulsive quality that Full Circle dares to expose and explore.
Mitch's cruises in his vintage MGB roadster usually lead to police stations and stressful situations. Mitch is divorced and has a weakness for beautiful women (which gets him into trouble on one case). Material abundance vs. the insolvency of the soul is a classic theme many readers can understand, and gives the story a deeper meaning; and Mitch, a tragic flaw that bravado can't beat.
The only scratches on this otherwise sterling story are ones natural to many P.I./police procedurals. Blood Spiral sometimes loses the reader in its detailed narrative. While the plot is generally orderly, a couple of chapters (specifically those set within police HQ) slow the pace a bit. It's not enough for fans of the genre to worry about. But for those of the swift, screen-style action/adventure set, Full Circle's literary leanings may be a turn-off. And for those looking for a complex whodunit, Blood Spiral does provide two separate, authentic cases. But detective story devotees can probably figure them out early-on.
Still, Full Circle is an excellent first effort for Sam Waas that's highlighted by masterful use of metaphor and compelling characterizations of cops, clients, and killers. Above all, however, Mitch King sets the standard for the modern sleuth: one that is able to execute searches for self that are every bit as exacting and revealing as the quest to solve clients' cases.
As an aside, in the wake of Robert B. Parker's death, it would be interesting to see how a cogent writer like Waas would handle writing a new Spenser adventure.
The cynical imagery of many private eye stories is still present in Full Circle. And while author Waas consistently channels greats like Raymond Chandler, in many instances, he surpasses them in his use of metaphors. Barbs like this beauty hit the bull's-eye: "The squat dented machine at the gate buzzed angrily and stuck out its paper tongue at me. I took the ticket. The box quit complaining and lifted its splintery wooden arm in a tired jerky arc."
Despite the sarcasm, the tone of Full Circle is one of surprisingly modern sensitivity and sensibility than of cold impunity. For example, Mitch has a homosexual business partner and bristles at homophobic remarks. He is friendly with the police, especially with a tough Jewish cop named Meierhoff (who he watches deal with prejudice). King himself is not only street smart, but college educated: Knowing his chromatographs from spectrographs proves handy when he's protecting an out-of-this-world smart and sexy scientist-astronaut from a stalker.
And though Mitch drives a 4 runner with GPS; has a knowledge and collection of guns to make Mike Hammer stammer; and performs many profitable private law enforcement jobs that make him more like Paladin than typical P.I., he seems empty inside. Ironically, it gives Mitch an impulsive quality that Full Circle dares to expose and explore.
Mitch's cruises in his vintage MGB roadster usually lead to police stations and stressful situations. Mitch is divorced and has a weakness for beautiful women (which gets him into trouble on one case). Material abundance vs. the insolvency of the soul is a classic theme many readers can understand, and gives the story a deeper meaning; and Mitch, a tragic flaw that bravado can't beat.
The only scratches on this otherwise sterling story are ones natural to many P.I./police procedurals. Blood Spiral sometimes loses the reader in its detailed narrative. While the plot is generally orderly, a couple of chapters (specifically those set within police HQ) slow the pace a bit. It's not enough for fans of the genre to worry about. But for those of the swift, screen-style action/adventure set, Full Circle's literary leanings may be a turn-off. And for those looking for a complex whodunit, Blood Spiral does provide two separate, authentic cases. But detective story devotees can probably figure them out early-on.
Still, Full Circle is an excellent first effort for Sam Waas that's highlighted by masterful use of metaphor and compelling characterizations of cops, clients, and killers. Above all, however, Mitch King sets the standard for the modern sleuth: one that is able to execute searches for self that are every bit as exacting and revealing as the quest to solve clients' cases.
As an aside, in the wake of Robert B. Parker's death, it would be interesting to see how a cogent writer like Waas would handle writing a new Spenser adventure.
Displaying 1 of 1 review